Erin Popovich

Infobox Swimmer
swimmername = Erin Popovich


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nationality = USA
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birthdate =birth date and age|1985|06|29
birthplace = Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
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height = height|ft=4|in=4.75cite web |url=http://www.webcitation.org/5alJaHb0m|title=Erin Popovich Athlete Biography|accessdate=2008-09-09|publisher=US Paralympics|date=2007-01-10]
weight = convert|105|lb|kg
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Erin Popovich (born June 29, 1985) is a three-time United States Paralympic swimmer. She has won 14 career Paralympic gold medals, and 19 total.

Personal life

Popovich was born with achondroplasia, restricting the growth of her limbs.cite web |url=http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080909/SPORTS/80909009|title=Former CSU swimmer Erin Popovich going gold in Beijing|accessdate=2008-09-09|publisher=Fort Collins Coloradoan|date=2008-09-09] Her parents, a teacher and a physician, moved their family to Butte, Montana when Popovich was five.cite web|last=Franz|first=Zachary|url=http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/09/03/sports/sports08.txt|title=Butte Paralympian makes way to Beijing|accessdate=2008-09-10|publisher=Great Falls Tribune|date=2008-09-03] During childhood, she wore braces to straighten her back and legs, and underwent about a dozen surgeries. But according to her mother, "we didn't have to make a lot of accommodations for her; we didn't want to treat her too much differently from her siblings." Popovich was interested in sports from an early age. She rode horses and played soccer and basketball. When Popovich was 12, she joined a swim club and by the age of 15, she was competing at the 2000 Paralympic Games.

Popovich received a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University in May 2007, and her hometown is listed as Silver Bow, Montana.

Swimming career

Erin Popovich has participated in three Paralympics. She won three gold medals and three silver medals while setting four world records at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney.cite web |url=http://www.colostate.edu/features/erin-popovich08.aspx|title=Making a Big Splash|accessdate=2008-09-09|publisher=Colorado State University|date=June 2008] cite web |url=http://www.daaa.org/swimoutsdg.htm|title= DAAA's Outstanding Swimmers|accessdate=2008-09-09|publisher=Dwarf Athletic Association of America] At the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Popovich won seven gold medals in seven races (including two relays), and set three world records and four Paralympic Games records.cite web |url=http://paralympics.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/1984|title=U.S. Paralympics Profile: Erin Popovich|accessdate=2008-09-09|publisher=U.S. Paralympics] In 2005, Popovich won the first ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability and was named the Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year.cite web |url=http://groupbenefits.thehartford.com/usp/bios/popovich.html|title=U.S. Paralympics Athlete Biographies: Erin Popovich|accessdate=2008-09-09|publisher=The Hartford Financial Services Group] cite web |url=http://www.colostate.edu/features/erin-popovich.aspx|title=Erin Popovich Named Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year|accessdate=2008-09-09|publisher=Colorado State University|date=September 2005] At the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, she won an additional four gold and two silver medals, breaking two world records (200m individual medley and 100m breaststroke) and two Paralympic records (100m and 400m freestyle).cite web|url=http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/BIO/Athlete/5/1200935.shtml|title=Athlete Biography POPOVICH Erin|accessdate=2008-09-09|publisher=Beijing 2008 Paralympics Official Website] cite web |url=http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080914/UPDATES02/80914005|title=Popovich wraps up Paralympics with another silver|accessdate=2008-09-09|publisher=Fort Collins Coloradoan|date=2008-09-14]

References

External links

* [http://paralympics.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/1984 US Paralympics profile]
* [http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/BIO/Athlete/5/1200935.shtml Beijing 2008 profile]